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The lunar wall comes into view, three planets huddle, and the moon joins the Leo constellation in this week’s best sky events.
Straggler meteors, a solar eclipse, and the return of Venus are among the best sky events to watch this week.
Look Up for Halley’s Comet Shower this Weekend
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on May 3, 2013 
Halley’s comet glides across the starry skies back in March 1986, shedding particles that will eventually approach Earth as Eta Aquarid meteors. Credit: NASA Halley’s Comet won’t swing by Earth for another 48 years, but you won’t have to wait that long to watch bits of the iconic comet zip across our skies. That’s…
Skywatchers this weekend will get treated to some beautiful close encounters when the Moon glides past bright clusters of stars and planet Jupiter. Up first on Saturday, April 13, look towards the high western sky after local sunset for a waxing crescent Moon. Look to its far upper left and you will see a super-bright…
Posted by Shockwaves from a meteor caused damage to buildings in central Russia, hurting at least a thousand people on Friday, according to news reports. More than 200 children were among those injured in the Chelyabinsk region, Russia’s Interior Ministry told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. “Verified information indicates that this was one meteorite which burned…
Sky Show: Jupiter and Moon in Super Close Pairing
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on January 19, 2013 
Two of the brightest objects in the night sky head towards a close encounter on Monday night. The sky show begins after local nightfall on the 21st when the waxing gibbous moon snuggles up to brilliant white Jupiter in the southeast. This closeness is of course just an illusion – they are in reality separate…
Surprise Meteor Shower this Week?
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on December 12, 2012 
While space experts are predicting a grand performance from the annual Geminid meteor shower this week– thanks in large measure to the moon being a no show – there may be an extra skywatching surprise. Russian astronomer Mikail Maslov has come up with computer models that are predicting a never-before-seen meteor shower peaking the same…
This long weekend skywatchers get to see the annual peak of the Draconid meteor shower. While not the most prolific cosmic fireworks show it reliably puts on a nice display and this year with the moon out of the way – sky conditions are set to be ideal. Like other meteor showers the Draconids get…
Planets like Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are easy to spot when they shine at their brightest but the outermost planet, Neptune, is a bit of a challenge even when at its best. Now is the best viewing prospects of the year for Neptune as it reaches opposition on August 24th – meaning the gas…
While not as famous as some other annual meteor showers, the Delta Aquarids are a reliable sky show, and they are set to peak this weekend. Skywatchers will have to be real night owls to get the most out of this celestial event. With the moon setting after midnight local time, the darkest skies and…
Night Sky News: Discovery of New Nova?
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on June 28, 2012 
According to new sky reports there may be a candidate nova now quickly brightening in the summer constellation Sagittarius. Discovered independently by two Japanese backyard astronomers, Koichi Itagaki and Yukio Sakurai on June 26, 2012 the star dubbed PNV J17522579-2126215, previously not visible, flared to 9th magnitude making it a faint but easy target for most small…
Moon Visits Mars and Saturn
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on June 25, 2012 
Skywatchers over the course of the next few nights have a chance to observe the thin-crescent waxing moon pair up with a couple of the brightest planets in the evening sky now, Mars and Saturn. Facing the southwestern sky just after local sunset on June 25 and 26 Luna will first be hanging just below…
Planets Line up at Dawn this Weekend
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on June 15, 2012 
This weekend Venus emerges from the sun’s glare to join a planetary lineup visible near the predawn horizon.
Night Sky News: New African Dark Sky Sanctuary
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on May 25, 2012 
Skywatchers wanting to experience some of the darkest skies anywhere in the world have a new dream destination in Africa. This week the Arizona-based International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a night sky preservation advocacy group announced that one of southern Africa’s largest privately own reserves, NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia is not only the world’s…
Shooting a Solar Eclipse
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on May 18, 2012 
This Sunday, May 20th an annular solar eclipse will race across most of western and central North America. With the solar disappearing act occurring in the late afternoon, early evening time period above countless picturesque landscapes, there will be tons of skywatchers wanting to capture that souvenir shot of the full or partial eclipse. Taking…
Watch Bits of Halley’s Comet Fall this Weekend
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on May 4, 2012 
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak over the weekend of May 5 and 6 however even with the full supermoon’s glare to contend with there may end up being more to see than you think. Favoring southern hemisphere observers, from a dark sky as many as 20 to 30 shooting stars can…
Celebrate the Night Sky this Weekend!
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on April 27, 2012 
Get set for International Astronomy Day on Saturday, April 28! This annual event, celebrating its 39th year, began as a high profile way of drawing public attention to the science and the hobby through star parties, indoor exhibits and activities. It has since mushroomed in size and scope and is celebrated in dozens of countries…
Night Sky News: Earth Hour Stargazing Experiment
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on March 30, 2012 
As the lights go down during Earth Hour on Saturday , March 31 around the world, take advantage of the darkness and look up at the stars. Light pollution not only wastes energy, disrupts circadian rhythms of wildlife but also diminishes the beauty of the night sky. To see how much light pollution affects stargazing…
Night Sky News: Moon and Planets in Sunset Show
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on March 23, 2012 
All month long the brightest planets in the heavens, Venus and Jupiter, have been putting on a great planetary play high in the west just after sunset. A couple of weeks ago they came stunningly close to each other – appearing side by side in the sky, and now as they slowly drift apart they…
Night Sky News: Mars Madness in March
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on March 4, 2012 
Once every two years Mars’ orbit brings it close to Earth allowing it to shine its biggest and brightest to the naked eye and telescope – and on the evening of March 5 the Red Planet will reach its closest approach to Earth for 2012. Only 62.6 million miles will separate our two worlds as…
Night Sky News: Chance to Spot a Green Giant
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on February 8, 2012 
Thanks to a close encounter with Venus , skywatchers the next few nights get a chance to easily glimpse the 7th planet from the Sun – the green giant Uranus. While the pair of planets will be visible together within the field of view of any standard 7×50 binocular until Feb.15th, Venus and Uranus will…
Night Sky News: Monster Star Factory on Showcase
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on February 3, 2012 
You may not consider winter prime stargazing season, but in fact some of the brightest stars are found shining in Northern Hemisphere skies this time of the year. Probably the most recognizable pattern of stars in all the heavens, after the Big Dipper, is the constellation Orion, the Hunter. Because of its placement in the…
Solar Storm Hits Earth
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on January 23, 2012 
After a weekend filled with great auroral activity in Northern Canada and Scandinavia (Norway video) thanks to a strong gust of solar wind coming off the Sun Jan.19th, the Earth is about to get hit again -by the biggest blast of solar radiation in 7 years. Talk about a one-two punch on the cosmic scale!…
GLOBE at Night – Helping to Save the Night Sky
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on January 20, 2012 
A dark sky filled with stars is becoming an ever rarer sight. Since most of the human population lives in or around big cities we have become detached from our night sky heritage as artificial lights filter out natural star light. Ask a young person about the Milky Way and you’re more often than not…
Night Sky News: Watch Venus and Neptune Close Encounter
Posted by Andrew Fazekas on January 13, 2012 
Next few evenings backyard astronomers get a chance to see two worlds in the extreme – Venus and Neptune – in the same part of the sky. The brightest and faintest planets visible to skywatchers will be huddling together in a close conjunction in the south-western sky after sunset. While Venus is super easy to…
